Llandough hospital nr cardiff

[katylou25]

I'm expecting my second baby in August and had my first here and had a fab experience - but don't know what it's like since they changed it to midwife-led unit in the Summer. Has anyone given birth there since and what did you think?? Want a natural birth again (just gas and air with DS) and love the idea of using a pool etc - are these guaranteed or just pot luck if you get the room??? have tried looking at dr foster and birthchoice but theyve not got the updated info on them.

Thanks x

[footstep]

Hi Katylou

My friend had her dd in the birthing pool at llandough. She had a fab experience there.

AFAIK you can'y be guareteed the pool, but they're quite a quiet unit (my friend's was the only birth there in the 2 days they were there), so it would be unlikely to be busy.

I had a waterbirth at home in cardiff with my dd in september. fab experience - would recommend it to anybody :) the community midwives (based at llandough) were great.

good luck with your pregnancy!

footstep

x

[katylou25]

Thanks footstep Thats great - good to hear its gone quieter when I was there last time were at least 10 babies bornt he day I was there!

[katylou25]

Anyone else???

[earthmummy]

Caerphilly birthing centre is not too far from you. It is a fantastic place, why not have a look around the unit and consider this place as another potential place to birth your baby.

[CaptainDippy]

Had mine in Llandough - before it was mid-wife led, so can't give you an opinion now, but just wanted to post cos it was weird to see a thread about Llandough!! Thought that if I was going to have my baby in Wales, I might as well have her in a hospital with a nice Welsh name!!

I know that there is a midwife-led section to the Heath as well now with more birth pools than Llandough - So it might be worth checking out both!!? I like the thought of giving birth in a midwife-led unit in a main hospital - so that (God forbid) anything did go wrong, they could just wheel me down the corridor rather than blue light me 40 mins down the road. If anything did happen - you'd end up at the Heath anyway!!

Let me know what you choose!! The Welsh NHS is sooooooooo much better than the English - I do miss it!!

[CaptainDippy]

Oooooooh - this place in Caerphilly sounds looovely - Check that out too!!

[BonyM]

No first-hand experience of Llandough, as had dd2 at home.

However, I did look round Caerphilly Birthing Centre (as that was going to be my choice if I decided against a home birth) and agree that it is lovely. Really cosy rooms (all single apart from 2 double iirc) and the midwives are really lovely. I had all my initial scans and tests there. Their birthing pool is fab as well.

[milge]

No direct experience of it since it has been midwife led, a friend of mine has just had her son there, and she was the only "patient" for the 20 odd hours she was there, so had all the staff to herself. V positive experience for her, so she says.

[JonesTheSteam]

I can recommend the midwife led unit at Caerphilly as well. I had DS there - the midwives were fantastic - very friendly and welcoming.


Hausfrau's right about the non-challenging births though - no caesarians and no epidurals either (which was fine for me as I didn't want one anyway!!).

[hockeymum]

Friends of mine can recommend Llandough and Caerphilly birthing centres, they've all had good experiences, compared to the regular consultant led unit at Heath. I didn't have any choice, I had a caesar last week at the Heath, but it was better this time than last - it is just huge though (there were 7 sections there the day I had ds).

The new birthing centre at the Heath is fantastic though. My friend had her baby girl there last month. All the rooms have double beds, so partners can stay the night even after the babies are born and the majority have birth pools too. Speaking to the midwives, they love working there and it does show in the care they give people, it is very clean as well, much cleaner than the consultant led unit upstairs. There are no set visiting hours so you can choose to have people there when you want them and you will stay in the same room for the whole duration which is really lovely and private.

Have a look around all 3 units, most have tour times and decide where you will feel most comfortable.

[katzg]

so weird to see the place where i spend 10 years of my life as a thread title, i used to live in LLandough and can remember the maternity wing being opened! if i remember correctly the school choir sang at the opening!

Lovely unit though,

[rosycheek]

Never used Llandough but had DS1 at the Heath. Sounds though it's changed since then though (for the better I hope - had terrible experience there).

Can definately recommend Caerphilly though. Had DD there and the midwives from there assisted at my home birth for DS2.The birthing Centre has recently been renovated and is beautiful, is very much a home from home and all the midwives are lovely and supportive. Not sure how many birthing pools they have though, but as it's usually very quiet there I would imagine there is a good chance that it would be free when you go in. Good luck

[katylou25]

Thanks everyone!

Will go and look at caerphilly and the Heaths new midwife bit - didn't know that was even there. But when had scan at 20 weeks baby ios measuring bigger than DS and he was 9lb 9oz so am to be rescanned at 36 weeks and if he still bigger going to have to be under consultant anyway - really fancied the more relaxed midwife led side of it

[CaptainDippy]

Hope you get to have what you want!! Those scans "ain't necessarily so" - I was told DD2 was 7lb 7oz and she was teeny tiny 5lb!! There is hope!! Glad my info on the midwife-led bit of Heath was useful - My friend had a baby there in Feb and had an absolute wonderful experience!! All the best!!

[pepperpots]

Hausfrau both my boys were born in the same room in the heath (and the same horrible minty colour walls too)
Friend had her baby last tuesday in llandough and said it was lovely she had a totally natural birth unlike last time when every drug and intervention was used

[pepperpots]

very possibly lovely midwives who although i was induced three weeks early and shoudl have been constantly strapped to a bed let me have anhour on the birthing ball

[Filyjonk]

I had both kids at the Heath, dd at birthing centre (beginning July 05, so one of the first births there!). Ds August 03, good because I had my community mw there but could easily have been shite, as soon as the next mw came on she started telling me I was about to kill my baby through incomepetance and clear inability to bf. (he managed 1 year, I think he was ok at it)

Think birthing centre is great but there are politics between the birthing centre and the hospital. I was admitted at one point to the hospital ward for pain relief and they planned on all sorts of, IMO, uneccesary intervention (breaking waters etc, they could f right off, totally uneccessary). Ended up threatening to discharge myself and go home, it was that bad. They eventually discharged me (I was literally on the verge of walking out, I only live 10 minutes away, so they could f off, basically) and the birthing centre admitted me.

Birthing centre itself was lovely, run by lovely mws, only one pool as far as I could see but lovely.

Just know your rights if you end up there, thats all! Especially as the birthing centre gives you near infinate toast and tea and you're lucky to get anything on the ward.

I do still feel just a little annoyed about my experience on the ward even now...

[pepperpots]

Mine were october 2002 and june 2004

[pepperpots]

Mine were october 2002 and june 2004